VIC's $1bn Pentridge Prison transformation to support 8000 jobs

Works are underway on a $1 billion redevelopment of the historic Pentridge Prison site in Melbourne, which is expected to support thousands of construction and on-going jobs.

“This is an important milestone for the revitalisation of Pentridge Prison and its transformation into a vibrant community asset, driving economic and employment growth locally,” Shayher Group spokesperson Anthony Goh said.

Construction will begin with a 6,000-SQM retail hub that will feature a shopping centre, a new supermarket, a three-level car park and a 15-screen Palace Cinemas. The retail hub is expected to be completed in early 2019.

The A Division nearby is going to be transformed into a creative hub that will house studio and office spaces and a black-box multi-purpose theatre.

The overall Pentridge Coburg project – developed by Taiwan-based Shayher Group – will span a 6.7-hectare site, with the retail hub as its centrepiece. The entire development will transform the former prison site into a vibrant mixed-use urban village that will comprise of cafés, restaurants, a hotel as well as a shopping hub, apartments and public open space.

Pentridge Prison was built in 1850 and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, which requires its historical elements to be restored as part of the Pentridge Coburg project.

“The construction process will be sensitive to the existing heritage of the prison and undertaken in a manner that will ensure the heritage elements live on for many decades to come,” Mr Goh said.

TFE Hotels – a joint venture between Toga Group and Singapore-based Far East Hospitality Holdings – has been signed by Shayher Group to operate the 120-room Adina Apartment Hotel that will be built in the future.

Shayher Group has already invested approximately $2 million for various restoration works that includes the restoration of the iconic guard tower on-site.

The entire Pentridge Coburg project is expected to support up to 8,000 jobs, including more than 1,200 permanent jobs in the retail hospitality and hotel industries.

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